Embracing Ice
by cazcappy
Summary: Celes X OC. A young man begins his journey to making the world a better place after his home town is burned to the ground and he joins up with the Returners in their struggle against the insidious Imperial Empire. (rated M just for safety to give me room to write violence, lemons, and profanity if necessary later on.)
1. Prologue: Miranda Burns

Final Fantasy VI: Embracing Ice

Prologue: Maranda Burns

* * *

"Mom I'm done with my chores, I'm leaving now!"

"Wait, Caz!"

Caz Takumi groaned as he slowly turned around to face his mother. Caz was of average height, slightly skinny but fit and athletic with short yet messy light brown hair. He tried to hide his impatience but it was evident on his face as his mother made her way to him.

"And where are you going young man?"

"I was just going to the forest for a bit. It's safe mom."

His mother wasn't placated however.

"Caz that forest can be dangerous; there are wild animals in there. And what if some Imperial patrol mistakes you for some thief or deserter?"

"MOOOOOM I'm 17 I can look after myself and besides they have no reason to come this close to Miranda. They've been dealing with some rebels up in Tzen."

"I know Caz, but still be careful. Rumors are swirling that some rebels may be hiding here, so we have to be on our guard."

"They won't come burning down our whole town because of some rumors and my chores are done so please may I go?"

"Oh I suppose, but come back for dinner or your father won't be happy."

"I promise mom, see you later!"

Caz quick gave his mother a hug before dashing off through the town of Maranda, past shops, decorated houses, flowerbeds, inns and finally past the limits of the town itself. The forest was just a little ways away from the town. It was a big and open forest with little undergrowth to prohibit movement. Caz liked going to the forest when he could because it was quiet, peaceful and he could do whatever he wanted within the bounds of his imagination. Sometimes he imagined he was fighting imperial soldiers from Vector, other times he was an imperial general and eradicating the rebel forces known as the "Returners." Today was peaceful however, the sun drifting through the canopy of trees was warm and a light breeze drifted through the forest and rustled the leaves on the trees. Caz made his way over to a particular large tree and sat down cross-legged with his back against the trunk. Closing his blue-grey eyes he relaxed and focused on listening to the surrounding forest. Caz liked this quiet time, even though he lived in a beautiful town; Maranda was considered by some to be the most beautiful town in the world, but it was still noisy and Caz disliked noise, preferring isolation and silence instead. The wind blew gently, and rustled the leaves on the trees leaving a soothing percussion of sound. Insects buzzed incessantly as they flew around the forest. Birds chirped as they flitted around looking for food or looking for twigs and leaves to build their nests.

Hours slowly crept bye and soon it was evening with the sun slowly setting and the sky a brilliant array of red, orange and yellow. Caz slowly opened his eyes rose to his feet and stretched, feeling great about his day. Caz walked briskly towards the edge of the forest back to Maranda. He was going to be a little late, hopefully his father wouldn't yell at him too much. As he came to the edge of the forest Caz suddenly froze, eyes wide open in shock and a glimmer of fear appeared on his face at what he was seeing. Maranda was burning, his hometown was on fire. Black smoke roiled up to the sky as homes in the town were ablaze. Caz looked just to the right of the city limits and saw lines of imperial soldiers, some on foot and some using those frightening Magitek machines that could supposedly use magic, a powerful destructive force thought gone from the world. The Magitek armored units were lined up and firing beams of fire into Miranda. Suddenly the Magitek units stopped firing into Miranda and the Imperial foot soldiers began their terrifying march towards the city as they looked to enter it. Caz broke into a dead run towards Miranda. He had to make sure his parents were ok. Caz entered the back of the city out of sight of the Imperial army and sprinted to his house, his breathing ragged and catching in his throat as his heart pounded rapidly from both adrenaline and fear. As he neared the neighborhood near his house he starting passing burning houses, some burning brightly while others were already smoldering heaps of ashes on the ground. As he turned the corner Caz saw what remained of his house. Charred and blackened wood lay around the ground, where his house had stood, there was now nothing.

"Mom! Dad! Where are you!? Mom! Dad!"

"They're gone Caz. They were in the house and didn't make it out."

Caz turned and saw his neighbor old man Yamamoto, his face blackened with soot but tears brimming around his old eyes that had seen too much death and destruction in his life.

"T-They can't be gone! They can't!" Caz screamed.

"I'm sorry Caz, those Magitek units fired a fire beam that went right through your house, and your parents didn't have a chance."

"W-Why are the imperials from the Empire attacking us?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard that Returners were rumored to be recruiting here and the Empire decided to make sure that's not going to happen. I also heard that they're going to take the young boys and men that survive and force them to enlist in the imperial army. You should go Caz, don't let them catch you."

"Where should I go? I don't have any other family or place to go Yamamoto."

"Anywhere is better than here young Caz. Find somewhere away from war, from suffering, from death and live your life in peace, that's what I would do. But in case you need to defend your own life; take my sword and wield it with purpose, but don't wield it with hate or you'll only destroy yourself. Live so that you can make a difference and change this world for the better."

As old man Yamamoto offered his sword Caz solemnly reached out and grasped it. The blade was old but it was in decent condition and as Caz slowly swung it carefully to gauge the weight he found it was light and it was a little top heavy but it was still a good sword. Caz looked at his neighbor with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you; I won't forget your kindness."

"Hurry now and go Caz, Imperial soldiers will be in this part of town soon, run while you still can."

Caz nodded and broke into a dead sprint back out of his ruined hometown and back towards the forest that he was accustomed too. He had to get out of the general vicinity of Miranda, yet night was falling fast and it would be dangerous and almost suicidal to try to avoid imperial patrols at night. The forest was a different place at night. Given Caz was now without a family and a home it was now surreal and felt foreign; no longer a comfortable place to spend his time. The forest was eerily quiet now, the birds asleep in their nests except for the lone owl that gave an occasional hoot. Cicada's buzzed noisily in distant parts of the forest but other than that there was no other sound. Caz slowed to a careful and quiet walk. He didn't think he'd been followed from the burning town of Miranda, but he still needed to be careful and if he walked quietly he could hear if someone else came within his vicinity. Caz walked for what seemed like hours slowly becoming aware of how tired and hungry he was. He settled down underneath a tree with his back to the trunk; the sword Yamamoto gave him in his lap so it was within reach if he needed it. Caz tried to come to terms with what had happened today; his hometown was razed and his parents were killed. He was on his own, possibly on the run from imperial soldiers of the Empire and now he had to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. As these thoughts flashed through Caz's mind he slowly closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

Voices murmuring in the distance jolted Caz awake and he rubbed sleep from his eyes and jumped into a crouch, sword at the ready. A crescent moon slanted beams of moonlight through the forest canopy but the light was dim at best. Caz stayed behind the tree trunk as the voices drew closer. Soon he could make out what they were saying.

"General Celes, Miranda is firmly under the Empire's control now. All resistance has crumbled and been dealt with and all able-bodied men will be enlisted in the imperial army."

"Good, job well done Lieutenant" replied a commanding yet soft, feminine voice. "What were the casualties for us and for the town?"

"Barely any casualties on our side General thanks to your perfect plan, but there were moderate amounts of civilian casualties."

"That's unfortunate; we need the citizens to believe in the Empire and to support us. If we go too far we will only incur rebellion as the citizens grow to hate us. Next time we'll try to reduce the amount of civilian casualties for our next encounter."

Caz's heart pounded wildly as he listened. They were imperial soldiers and one of them was a General! Caz had to get out of there without being noticed before they got close enough to find him. Keeping his eyes in the direction of the voices Caz started to slowly edge his way around to avoid an encounter with them.

CRACK!

A twig crackled as Caz accidently stepped on it.

"Who's there!?" the Imperial General's aide shouted.

Caz sprinted to another tree trunk and hid behind it, trying to contain his panic, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He heard the footsteps of the two Imperials coming closer to his location. Caz gripped his sword tightly as the footsteps grew louder. He didn't want to fight but he wasn't going to let himself be captured either and forced to enlist after the Empire had murdered his parents. Caz slowed his breathing to try and relax and clear his head, he needed to be rationale if he was to get out of this alive. Suddenly the footsteps ceased and the forest was silent again. Caz waited with bated breath. Did they know where he was? Or did they give up and leave? Caz waited a few more moments; then he decided he had to take the risk. Slowly, sword at the ready Caz crept out from behind the tree.

"General Celes, there he is, there's the intruder!" shouted the Imperial Lieutenant. Caz turned to the voices; they weren't more than 15 feet away and were looking right at him. The male who Caz knew was the Lieutenant was tall and stern, he looked about 40. The female general took Caz's breath away. She looked about his age, slightly taller than he was. She was wearing a green combat uniform with a white cape about her shoulders; her hair was shimmering golden in the moonlight, her skin pale as the moonlight and looked smooth as glass. The thing that startled Caz most were her eyes, ice blue, staring at him without a hint of surprise or emotion. It was like staring into a frozen pond and seeing your own reflection. Caz also observed that both the General and her Lieutenant had drawn swords.

"General this could be an escaped rebel from Miranda, we should apprehend him immediately."

"He looks more like a civilian Biggs; he looks too scared to be a hardened Returner." The General turned to Caz and addressed him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Caz took several deep breaths to steady himself and he tried his best to not look frightened and locked gazes with the General.

"I am a survivor of your massacre at Miranda today. Because of you my parents are dead. J-Just leave me alone."

The man Biggs looked at his superior. "General Celes he looks like he's of age to enlist in the army, we should take him into custody."

Anger suddenly blazed from within Caz, these people, these Imperials had been part of the attack that murdered his parents and they wanted him to fight FOR the Empire? Caz looked at the man with all the contempt he could muster.

"Did you hear me? You sacked my hometown and murdered my parents. You think I will fight FOR THE EMPIRE?!"

Biggs immediately starting walking towards Caz.

"Stupid kid, you will enlist in the imperial army as per Emperor Gestahl's orders, you have no choice in the matter or do you think you can kill us and walk away?"

"I said l-leave me alone!"

Caz charged towards Biggs and slashed his sword at the man's face only to have his stroke deflected to the side by Biggs sword. Biggs thrust back at Caz's chest and Caz twisted around to the left to evade it. He made a clumsy attempt at Biggs leg but Biggs easily jumped backwards to avoid it.

"You got nerve fighting with an Imperial, kid, do you want to die?"

"No, I just want you to leave and leave me in peace. I don't want to kill you but I will if I have to defend myself and I will never serve your Empire."

As Biggs charged Caz parried his sword blow with his own sword and reached out, grabbing Biggs sword arm. Caz then turned his body into Biggs and elbowed him in the gut soliciting a gasp from the imperial soldier. However Biggs swept out with his leg took Caz's out from under him, as he fell Caz pulled Biggs to the ground with him, both losing their swords in the process. They rolled on the ground, both fighting for dominance. Biggs was older and far stronger, but Caz's adrenaline was pumping hard as he was fighting for his life that he was able to keep the Imperial from pinning him to the ground. Caz brought up the heel of his right hand and cracked Biggs right in the chin, Biggs let go of Caz as he absorbed the blow and it dazed him. Caz jumped to his feet picked his sword off the ground and swung it downwards at the Imperial. That was then Caz remembered there were two Imperials and as he swung his sword at Biggs he glanced up at General Celes and saw her hand pointed at him and muttering some strange incantation. Frigid air rushed in, the world suddenly seemed colder and Caz stopped his sword mid swing and brought it up to his face to protect himself from whatever was approaching. Caz saw a flash of blue-white light and then it hit him in the face. Caz yelled in pain as his face became cold and he dropped to one knee. He felt liquid trickle down his forehead and realized it was blood. Luckily it seemed his sword had stopped most of whatever had tried to hit him and he had only been grazed. As more blood trickled down his forehead Caz looked at his sword in shock, the blade was frozen solid in ice, and as he watched, the blade cracked and then splintered into pieces.

_What…the hell?! That…was…..MAGIC._

Caz broke his thoughts and looked at the blonde Imperial General. Still he saw no emotion from her, as if ice itself was in her veins. Caz stumbled backwards and in one motion turned and ran, zigzagging his way in case of another attack and he kept running. Even as blood streamed from his wound, he didn't care. All he knew was he had to run; he couldn't fight magic and win. He ran for what seemed like days, he didn't know how far he ran or where he was running to. He ran until his legs were rubber and he felt dizzy from losing blood. He stumbled forward and collapsed to the ground as he lost consciousness.

...

Biggs coughed as he got to his feet. He had been embarrassed; an Imperial soldier losing to some dumb kid. If General Celes hadn't been there he could have died. Biggs retrieved his own sword and noted that the kid's sword was encased in ice from the guard down but the blade was fractured into pieces. Biggs looked at his commanding officer and bowed.

"Thank you General for intervening. Should we go after him? He got away, we must catch him."

"No, let him be Biggs. As he said, we killed his family when we captured Miranda, having someone enlist with that much hatred in the Empire wouldn't do any good."

"But General; what if he makes contact with the Returners and becomes one of them?"

"Then we will deal with him as we deal with any Returner, Lieutenant. Do I make myself clear?"

Biggs swallowed hard. "Understood General Celes. It should be morning soon; we should head back to the camp."

"Very well then, lead the way Biggs."

"As you wish General."

...

Caz awoke with a start coughing as he came to.

_Where…am I?_

As he looked around Caz realized he was in a tent. He tried to get up but groaned as his muscles were stiff and he could barely move, he felt a hand on his chest.

"Whoa, slow down kid, you just woke up, take it easy it's still morning yet."

Caz turned and saw a young man by his side, about mid-twenties wearing a bandana over his brown hair and a blue vested shirt.

"Who, are you?"

"Relax kid, it's safe. Taking the direction you came from and the state I found you in you must be from Miranda."

Caz was wide-eyed as he heard that.

"You're not with the Empire are you?"

The young man chuckled. "Nope, can't say that I am. Very opposite in fact, I'm with the Returners."

"Returners…." Caz let the sentence drift off. He still didn't know if this man was a friend or an enemy but it looked like he'd found Caz unconscious and taken care of him. The young man then reached into a pocket and took out a small flask, uncorked the top and offered it to Caz.

"Here; this will make you feel better it's a tonic."

Caz accepted the flask and drank it slowly, it tasted mildly sweet and he felt his strength starting to return faster.

"Thank you, for rescuing and taking care of me."

"No problem kid, though I will say your injuries were a little strange. The wound on your head healed fine but your hairstyle is a little weird."

"What do you mean?"

The man reached into his pocket and took out a smooth black rock, completely smooth and polished like glass, so much that it reflected everything off of it and Locke held it in front of Caz so he could see. Caz's hair was light brown, short with bangs just above his forehead but now he had a lock of hair above his right eye that was pure white, like it had been frozen over permanently.

_That must be a side effect of whatever magic General Celes used on me. Guess I'm stuck with it._

"I see what you're talking about now."

"Oh well, it doesn't look to bad on you kid. Anyways take your time and rest up, I have Returner business to take care of but you can keep the tent." The man started to rise and exit the tent.

"Wait…mister…let me come with you."

The man wheeled around. "You want to come with? You're not some Imperial spy are you?" he asked half-joking but his eyes were also mildly serious.

Caz shook his head, "I'm serious. Because of the Empire I have no family anymore, and I want to help the Returners defeat them."

The man nodded in understanding. "Well then I guess I'll take the risk then. I'll take you to Banon and if he approves we'll begin your training." The man grasped Caz's hand and helped him to his feet. "Oh by the way my name is Locke; Locke Cole, don't forget it."

Caz smiled. "My name is Caz Takumi; nice to meet you Locke."

* * *

Authors Note: About time I started a new story. Anyways this one will be really interesting. I have a more in depth picture than normal so I should be able to update faster than my usual slow and erratic pace. (And also if my pc doesn't die on me. It's a 6 year old laptop and it's starting to go on me and might last less than a year at this rate.) Anyways this chapter is as I called it a Prologue since it leads up to the main story. This is my first time writing in the FFVI fandom but it's easily my all-time favorite game. Anyways I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I will enjoy writing it. Reviews are encouraged and appreciated and I hope to roll out the next chapter soon. Until then, don't let Kefka destroy your life, hopes and dreams.

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, or square soft or Final Fantasy VI (well I own a copy of the game) but I don't own the rights to the story, characters other than my own OC; Etc.**_


	2. Chapter 1: Terra

Final Fantasy VI: Embracing Ice

Chapter 1: Terra

* * *

"So Locke what's our mission this time?"

Locke glanced at his companion and grinned. "We're heading to Narshe, Caz; our contact Arvis sent a message saying he needed us there urgently. Sounded pretty serious so we need to get there fast."

Caz ran his hand through his short light brown hair, lingering on the one strand of hair that was pure white, just over his right eye. One year had passed since he'd been given that feature in a battle, been rescued by Locke and joined the Returners. Locke had taken Caz to meet the Returner leader Banon. Banon had approved of Caz joining the Returners and had Locke take care of training Caz. Locke found Caz a fast learner and skilled swordsman and the past year they worked well together. Normally for Locke one man stealth jobs was his specialty but Caz made them easier. While Locke preferred daggers and flails for fighting, Caz had an affinity for swords and while Locke was better at picking locks Caz wasn't too far behind him. Caz also had exceptional agility and could keep up with Locke which made them a great pair for the more mobile and stealth missions.

The wind howled as the temperature started to drop. Locke and Caz were getting close to Narshe which had a windy and cold temperament due to being up in the mountains and being a major exporter of coal to most nations with their advanced mining. Narshe was also known to being neutral in all conflicts and while they did have a town militia they rarely used force except to defend themselves.

Locke spoke first. "Looks like we're nearly there Caz…and looks like something big is going on."

Caz looked in Narshe's Direction as they approached the gates, Narshe militiamen were running all around the town with Lobo's and even an occasional Vommamoth. The other disconcerting thing was the town gates; down and locked standing in their way.

"Looks like we're not getting in through the front door Locke."

"Ah, well, this will make things fun then." Locke winked as he said that.

"Well do you know of a secret entrance or something?"

"Nope, I don't so we have to do this the fun way."

Caz raised an eyebrow quizzically, "And what's the fun way?"

Locke pointed to the Inn that was just outside the gates.

"Pretty handy of them to make the roof the same height as the gate, don't you think Caz?"

"Yeah that is handy; however how do we get up there and through without being spotted?"

"Silly question my young protégé, if you'll notice the gates are shut because the guards are looking for something inside the city, if you look they have no one watching the outside."

Caz marveled at Locke's reasoning and observance.

_Well he's been doing this a lot longer than I have; I guess it takes time to notice those things._

Locke reached into his pack and took out a grappling hook, he and Caz went to the far side of the Inn and Locke threw the grappling hook onto the roof of the inn. It clanged, failed to catch anything and came hurtling back down as Caz and Locke sidestepped to avoid the metal hook.

Caz smirked and Locke just shook his head and said "That didn't happen. You saw nothing."

Locke wound up again and threw the hook. This time the hook did catch on the roof and Locke tested the rope to see if it would hold and the rope held fast. Locke quickly started hauling himself up the rope, Caz just behind him. Slowly they made their way up and finally were on the roof of the inn. Locke wound up his hook and put it back in his bag and the two rogue's dashed across the roof and leapt off the roof, grabbing hold of the top of the gated wall a few feet away. They pulled themselves up and then starting climbing down the wall on the other side. The cracks in the mortar along the brick walls of the gate gave them enough of a foothold and handhold to climb down unaided jumping down when they were a few feet of the ground and rolling to their feet.

Locke gestured to Caz, "Come on, Arvis house is this way."

The two did a light jog through the town; not sprinting otherwise they might look suspicious; passing guards and militiamen as they ran around town as if searching for something. After a time Caz and Locke arrived at Arvis house, Locke led Caz around the back and then knocked 3 times on the door to let Arvis know it was them and then he opened the door and Caz and Locke went inside.

As they made their way to the foyer they were met by a man with thinning gray hair in about his mid 50's.

"Yo Locke, how goes the robbin' and plunderin' trade?"

Caz started snickering as Arvis comment riled up Locke, who glared at Arvis and the snickering Caz.

"IT'S CALLED TREASURE HUNTING!"

"Same thing" dismissed Arvis with a wave of his hand.

"THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!"

"Pfffff, it's all semantic nonsense. Anyways I'm glad to see you, the reason I brought you here is there's a young woman I would like you to meet."

Locke got a serious look on his face. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that Magitek-riding imperial witch. I heard she fried 50 imperial soldiers in less than 3 minutes."

Arvis nodded. "The very same woman. Apparently she was under the control of a slave crown which robbed her of conscious thought, I found her in the mines when she and a couple other soldiers came through Narshe. The crown was already broken so I brought her back and nursed her to health. However the Narshe guards figured out she was here and they pursue her as we speak."

Caz frowned, "That's troubling, so where is she running?"

Arvis gestured back out his backdoor. "I told her to run into the mines and try to escape the city, based on the guard's movements she's probably still in there and possibly in danger, but she needs to see our side. I think she could be persuaded to join the Returners."

Caz looked at his partner. "Well Locke should we go rescue her, if what Arvis said is true, I think it's worth the risks."

Locke mulled it over for a minute then sighed. "Why not, very well Arvis, we'll find this girl and then…..hmmm…..oh I know we'll take her to Figaro and meet up with Edgar and then we'll take her to Banon."

Arvis nodded. "Sounds good, go quickly before the guards find her."

"Will do, let's go Caz!"

Caz and Locke dashed out the back door of Arvis house and sprinted towards the Narshe mines. Caz lit up a torch as he and Locke dashed through the mines looking for the girl Arvis had talked about. Luckily the ground was semi-soft and they could see footprints in the ground and Locke using his skills as a tracker was able to follow them quite easily. Soon the footprints ended right at a hole in the ground where it looked like the ground had collapsed. Other sets of footprints were also around the hole and leading to and away from both sides. Caz and Locke looked at each other and nodded in unison. They gathered around the hole and looked down. The bottom appeared about 10 feet below and they could see a limp form on the ground just on the outskirts of their vision. Locke went first, jumping down the hole and coming to a rolling crouch to cushion the fall. Caz followed suit and they both checked on the body. It was definitely a girl, possibly Caz's age. She had bright green hair, was wearing a red and green dress with a purple sash around her waist. Locke checked her vitals and found her to be alive.

"She's alive; looks like the fall knocked her out, no bleeding though so we got lucky."

Just then Locke and Caz heard a commotion coming from in front of them. They both ventured further and grimaced at what they saw. The cave opened up to a larger cavern with stalagmites dotting the cavern to make paths around the room. What else they saw were about 20 Narshe guards with Lobo's heading their way.

"Well Caz, looks like we're in for a fight, this could get rough." Locke drew his dirk and Caz drew his Mithril blade.

"Two against 20" Caz murmured. "They should have brought a few more guys to make it a fair fight."

Locke laughed quietly but they both knew it would be a hard battle and they would be lucky to get out of this in good shape. Suddenly a sound from behind them made them both jump slightly.

"Kupo!"

Caz and Locke whirled around the see a group of little white fluffy creatures, with furry cheeks, pink tails and little red orbs above their heads. One of them stepped forward and started gesturing to them.

"Kupo, Kupo, Kuuuu-ppo, Kupo."

Locke looked slightly relieved. "Are you saying you want to help us little moogles?"

The leading moogle nodded and grabbed a spear and spoke to his comrades.

"Kupo, Kupoooooooo, Kupo".

The other moogles all shouted "Kupo!" in agreement and brought out various weapons, swords, boomerangs, spears, and flails.

Locke pointed to the lead moogle. "Ok buddy, we'll divide into three groups, you lead one group, I'll lead one, and Caz you lead the 3rd group. Don't let the guards or the Lobo's get through and protect this woman at all costs.

Caz and the lead moogle nodded and spoke to his furry comrades. 3 moogles waddled over to Caz, two of them had boomerangs and the last one had a spear.

"Ok, Locke you take the center, I'll take the right side, other moogles you guys guard the left."

The 3 groups positioned themselves and started creeping towards the Narshe soldiers. As they neared the soldiers they heard the Field Marshall call out to his soldiers. "Looks like the girl has some protectors take them out and capture that girl alive!"

The soldiers all yelled their affirmation and charged, releasing their Lobo's from their leashes. The Lobo's dashed around the stalagmites on the cave floor and came at the groups. Caz dashed forward and as a Lobo leapt at him and slashed its open belly, sidestepping the body as it gave a death howl and was silent forever. Caz saw one of his moogles impale another Lobo through the throat with its spear as the other 2 took out a 3rd Lobo with their boomerangs. The Narshe guards were now in reach as well and Caz engaged the first guard that came at him whipping his flail through the air at Caz. Caz dodged the heavy ball at the end and dashing forward grabbing hold of the chain connecting the ball to the handle with his free hand, pulled the guard towards him. The guard gave a cry in surprise as he lurched forward and found his chest impaled on Caz's blade. Caz withdrew the blade and let the body drop to the floor and deflected a sword blow as another guard took a stab at him. Caz got past the guard's defenses and got in melee range. He elbowed the guard in the stomach and then as the guard doubled over Caz kicked out and swept the guard's feet out from under him. As the guard hit the floor the moogle with the spear stood over the guard and plunged it into the guard's stomach. The guard's scream choking into a gurgle as Caz slit his throat and put him out of his misery.

The sounds of fighting seemed to have quieted down so Caz took a quick survey of the situation. Locke and the other moogle's group had both defeated the soldiers attacking them as well and all that remained was the Narshe Field Marshall. Caz and Locke both stepped forward towards the Marshall. The Marshall realizing his force had been annihilated, stumbled backwards as he turned around and sprinted away as fast as he could to save his own hide.

"Whew that was fun."

Caz grinned as he and Locke cleaned their blades and returned them to their holsters. They walked back to the unconscious imperial woman with the moogles. As Locke and Caz checked on the girl the moogles waved goodbye and headed back to wherever their home is. Locke spoke up before they disappeared.

"Thank you moogles, we're in your debt."

"Kupo." Nodded the head moogle and then they were gone.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh" a soft voice murmured.

"Looks like our guest is waking up" Caz observed.

The girl's eyes fluttered a few times before slowly opening. She slowly sat up and when she did so clutched her head.

"Ow, my head hurts."

Locke withdrew a tonic from his pack and offered it to the girl.

"Here, this will help you feel better."

The girl accepted and sipped it slowly.

"Thank you."

Once she looked like she was able to recognize her surroundings Caz spoke up.

"So, do you have a name miss?"

"Name? Um…My name is….Terra."

"Alright Terra, I'm Caz and the roguish scoundrel over there is Locke."

Locke scowled at Caz and made an offensive hand gesture; Caz just stuck his tongue out and winked.

"Ok, Caz and Locke. Thank you for saving me from the guards that were after me I guess."

"Save your thanks for the moogles," Locke spoke up. "They were the real heroes here. So your name is Terra. Is there anything else you remember?"

Terra shook her head sadly. "No…I can't remember a thing. All I know is my name."

Locke was shocked. "You have amnesia?!"

Caz interjected, "Maybe it's a side effect from the slave crown."

"Hmmm, that could be, either way we'll have to wait until she recovers her memories; who knows maybe Banon could help with that."

Locke got down to one knee and looked Terra in the eye.

"Terra we know someone, who might be able to help you. Would you come with us to meet him?"

Terra was looking somewhat shy and slightly suspicious of our offer.

"We promise no harm will come to you Terra, you can trust Locke and I. We give you our word."

At Caz's words Terra did look a little more relieved.

"I guess I really have no choice until I regain my memories so I'll put my faith in you two."

"Ok we're set, Terra, you and Caz follow me, I know a way out."

Locke took off into the mines with Caz and Terra following behind.

Caz glanced over and noticed Terra was looking at him.

"Something the matter?"

Terra blushed, "Oh I'm sorry. I just noticed your hair is a little funny."

Caz ran a hand over the odd white strand of hair. "Great, just great, someone with bright green hair finds **MY** hair funny." Caz smirked as he said that, Terra on the other hand just huffed and ended the conversation. The two picked up their pace and caught up to Locke who had been slightly ahead of them. Soon they came to their destination…..a wall.

"Way to go Locke, you've gotten us lost."

"Don't bet on it Caz."

Locke started touching along the wall. "I believe, there's a switch here somewhere…"

Suddenly an outcropping of rock pushed in and the rock wall that was really a hidden door swung open. Locke gestured for Terra and Caz to go through. As they exited Caz saw they were out of the mines and just out past the Narshe gates.

"You mean, instead of scaling the walls and almost killing ourselves; we could have just walked through here?!"

Locke just chuckled. "Well it's good to teach you different methods of doing things Caz, besides the other way was shorter and it was more fun."

Caz just rolled his eyes but he chuckled as well.

"That said, Caz and Terra, remember where this is, you never know when you might need it again."

Caz and Terra both nodded.

"Alright, let's head out for Figaro Castle!"

* * *

Author's note: Oh god….2 chapters in less than a week…this almost never happens. You guys are lucky so far XD. Anyways hope you liked this chapter as well. In case you're wondering I will try to follow the FFVI script pretty well but if I do things slightly different it's ok because I do have an OC so some dialogue will be changed a little. Also if you were wondering on the names Vammamoth and Lobo; some of you might be used to the android or GBA versions of FFVI but I was raised on the SNES version so I will use that as my reference so if some things are named differently than what you're used to, no need to freak out. (and if you thought a building just outside of Narshe's gates was convenient If you look in-game where that training facility or whatever is...it's before the gates and goes right to the wall only difference is I changed it to an inn.) Well hope you all enjoyed and I wish you luck in your life. Until the next update; see you around.


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